Voltage multiplying circuits, including a switch therefor



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2l, 1947 Ras/ffm? Jan. 3l, 1950 M REED 2,496,021

VOLTAGE MULTIPLYING CIRCUITS INCLUDING A SWITCH THEREFCR Filed July 21, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z 2 il '156 54 b 64 0140 47a 444441 464461 450 46h 58LL 66 Z5 6 JNVENTCR. JESS M' Feed Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED- s.'rATEs PATENT ostico VLTAGE MU LTIPLYIN G CIRCUITS, INCLUDING A SWITCH THEREFOR J ess' M. vReed, Inglewood', Calif. Application July 21,' 1947, Serial No. 762,253

(Cl. 171-97'l Claims. 1

In undertaking to build up a voltage potential suliciently great to-operate stroboscope` tubes,l or for other uses requiring relatively highfvolt-A ages, resort has been made tol doubling thevoltagev of aprimary energy source, that isf by the useA of condensers. and a battery, the: voltage across the terminals of series connected con-r densers equals thev voltage, of the. primary source, times the number ofY condensers charged by the primary source, thus if a group off 3l condensers are individuallychargedy in parallel with a primary voltage source (battery) of 90vvolts, a po-f tential of 2880 volts is obtainableby throwing. the battery in series. circuit with the discharging condensers.

Since: a potential of ,approximately 288D; volts is required. for efficient use ofA stroboscope` tubes for photographic purposes, it)` willy be apparent that the afore-stated method of, arriving' at such.l a voltage potentialentails the use of an excessive weight and number of con-densers insofar as portability is concerned, as well as the-element of timefrequired to charge each of. the. condensers in the. pack comprising the unit. Also,ltheV ele' ment of cost is a considerable-iternrwhichy when' taken; together with the above mentionedy oonsiderations operates against popularity of usev inon the spot photography.,

In contrai-distinction to the afore-clescribedfE methodV ofy building up avoltage potentialsuciently great to operate-photographiclflashlightw ing equipment, I have: conceived of a: method of utilization of condensers, charged oneata timeV with av novel switching means,r andv discharged in series, wherein the potential acquired isfnot'- that of simple arithmeticalprogression, but' on the contrary is of theorder of geometrical` pror gression,` whereby Iv obtain a potential of 2880A volts ondischarge` ofbut 6 condensers inserie's with a primary sourceof 90r vclts,..therebyefectiing a great saving in weight oi the unit, as a` whole, a saving of tim'esrequired.v to successively charge each of the condensers,v and avery'real saving iny invested capital..

Accordingly it may be: stated as being a pri mary objectnof the invention to providey a light" weight, low cost', and" quickly charged packof condensersl possessing' a: voltage; potential suiii ciently great t'o functionallyoperate photo@ graphic flash-lightingv equipment;y and/orf for other relatively` high voltage: requirer'nents.y

A further objectof the invention isA to provide" a circuit including a switchtherefor, whereby a` voltage potential may be built? upto a` total re.'- quired voltage iny increments arrivedat in the: order of geometricalprogression,

A. still further' object of the-l invention is to@Y provide a driven switchadapted in afsingle cycle-1 of operation to. be placedf in?` circuit with a` proef gressively increasing number of condensers; andi 2' being so constructed as toapply to each'of suc-n cessiveones of saldi condensersthe accumulated potentialA of each andall of previously charged, condensers, whereby upon charging each of. a

successive number of?l condenser the: potential ofthe last charged condenser is-thatA of theflast previously charged? condenser, plus the potential?- of, other previouslyv charged condensers; plus the:

voltage ofv the primary source,v carriedthrough any increasing number ofv condenser charging;`

operations.k

In addition tothe aforementioned objects ofthe.- inventiom other objectsI thereof',l as Well asv features and advantages, derivablev therefrom,y mayy be noted fromr the accompanyingI drawing. theu detailed. speciication,A andr the subjoinedl claimsI In the drawingyof which there-are 2lsheets1:

Figure 1 is a development of the rotatable switchl showny in; Figure 8, the viewY shows the several segments of the switch, the related` con\ nections thereof` for progressive charging off` af plural number of oondensersi. and` also shows av primary voltage source functionally connectedfv With the switch.

FiguresfZ'to '7y inclusive show or'rather illustrate: the charging of a progressively increasing nurn-r berv of: condensers, each gure .ofk thegroup being identical tothe preceding fig-ure except that in each succeeding iigurev another condenser is added to those previously shcwn and in effect` is-illustrativev of the endresultfobtained through'M the circuit and switch shown-irl-Figure1'.`

Figure 8y is a frontl elevational view of: the

switch shown in Figure 8 the view shows the-A several contact rings ofthe switchas welll.y asj the electricalcircuit involved therein; wherebyit is'v possible to charge: condensers to= a potential'within the precept of the second and third objectsvoff` the invention l as aforementionedi At variable intervalsialong. the lengthfor thel dielectric cylindery I6" I placey metallici' rings 242 of whichf'inzthe presenti illustration there arev It individual bands; certain yofiwhichA are functionally operable in pairs, the' spacingibetweem bandslof' each pair thereon.. and between pairsl of bands` mayy beA and is? variable tov` provide ample'v spark gap clearance. and; inI practice? would1= vary` with' the voltage: across anypair' of bands'y and/or 'be-- tween adjacent pairs ofi` bands.'

As shown in Figures 1, 8, and 9, excepting for the first two and the last band of the thirteen bands shown, each band connected in series across a condenser is formed with an air gap 26 which extends uniformly across the face of the cylinder IB in a horizontal line whereby the ends of the several bands directly involved in series circuit with a condenser are separated from one another at a point beginning in common with one another and which gap 26 may be indicated in Figure 1 as being coincidental with the numeral 21.

Additionally each pair of bands is segmented, that is, band pair 28 is formed with the short segment 28a separated from the greater portion 32 by means of an air gap 34. Likewise band pair 31 is formed with a segment Sla, although as reference to the drawing will show, the segment Sla is of greater length than the segment 28a, and the segment Sla is separated from the greater portion SIb by an air gap 3|c, and so in like manner the numerals 33, and 31 indicate additional pairs of bands directly connected across one of the remaining condensers 44, 4S or 48, and each of the latter mentioned pairs of bands are also segmented, the segments 33a, 35a and 31a thereof increasing in length as you move progressively from band pair 33 to 35 to 3l across the face of the switch I4, that is, the segment 33a of the band pair 33 is of greater length than seg- I ment Sla, likewise the segment 35a of band pair 35 is of greater length than that of the preceding band pair, and. thusly with respect to the whole thereof.

In the present illustration there are 5 condensers to be successively charged in series across the band pairs 28, 3|, 33, 35, and 31, all to be charged in sequence of rotation of the switch I4, hence each pair of bands is formed with segments of increasing length as aforementioned, whereby successive ones of the condensers may be charged as the switch I4 is rotated, and additionally, to again impress a charge upon previously charged condensers which have laid a combined voltage across a last condenser in the condenser charging circuit, and in addition thereto, a 6th condenser, or condenser 8B is charged in series with the combined accumulated potential of each of the condensers 4|] to 48, and additionally' including the potential of the battery B0.

If a greater number of condensers were to be charged, then for a given size of switch, there would be a proportionately greater number of bands, although the segments thereof would be of shorter length to meet physical limitations thereof.

As shown in Figures 1 and 9, the band pair 55 constitute closed ribbons of metal extending around the periphery of the cylinder I8 and are energized by means of suitable sliding brush contacts 58a and 58h in circuit with an energy source or battery 60, the potential across the terminals of which will be considered as being 90 volts for the purpose of this specification.

Since for the purpose of this specification it is proposed to successively charge the iive condensers to 48 inclusive in series with the battery BIJ, although it will be recognized that a greater or lesser number of condensers may be charged, depending upon the ultimate voltage desired, it is necessary that there be 5 pairs or 10 individual bands, each of which is segmented as aforementioned, and in addition thereto, there is an additional continuous strip or closed band 82 which is brought into functional use following charging of the last of the above mentioned condensers, thus in the present illustration we have a total of 13 individual bands, certain of which are segmented, while others thereof are not segmented.

Of the aforementioned bands, band 56a, and elements 28a', Sla', 33a', 35a', and 31a of band segments 28a, 31a, 33a, 35a and 31a are connected in common by a lead B5 with the positive terminal of the battery 60 through the brush contact 58a, while of the aforementioned bands, band 56D and band 28a" of segment 28a are electrically connected by means of a lead 64, and the brush contact 58h with the negative terminal of the battery 60.

The band portion 28h of the band pair 28 is electrically connected through lead 66 with the band portion 3Ial of the band pair 3|, also, the band portion 3|b is electrically connected through lead 68 with the band portion 33a of band pair 33; also, band portion 33h is electrically connected through lead 'IU with band portion 35a" of band pair 35; also, band portion 3517 is electrically connected through lead 12 to band portion 31a of the band pair 3l.

It is also to be noted that of the 13 individual bands aforementioned, band 56h and band 28o are electrically connected through lead 28g; also, band 28h and 3|c are electrically connected through lead 3|g; also, band portion 3Ib and band 33e are electrically connected through lead 33g; also, band 33h and band portion 35e are electrically connected through lead 35g; also, band 35D and band portion 31o are electrically i connected through lead 31g; also, band portion 31h and band 62 are electrically connected through lead 6|'` Sliding contact 49a upon the band 62 operatF ing through the lead 82 and lead 84, places the bands and hence the condensers 40 to 48 in series connection with an energy storage condenser 86 at the termination of one complete rotation of the switch I4, as will be more fully set forth in the description of sequence of operation. Lead 88 connects the opposite side of the condenser 86 with the battery 50, and the leads 82-84 enable the last mentioned condensers to be thrown into series connection with the high voltage condenser 86 upon completion of one full rotation of the switch I4 as aforementioned.

The preceding description is believed to be inclusive of physical structure involved in the present invention, wherefor, in the interest of com plete clarity thereof, I will now describe functional operation thereof through one rotation of the switch I4.

With the several condensers and all other physical structure connected as afore-described, it is only necessary to close the switch |20 to energize and rotate the motor |22 and the direct coupled switch I4. Upon closing switch 6|, band 56a and segment bands 28a', 3|a, 33a', 35a', and 31a', being connected with the positive side of the battery 60, may be considered as being energized extensions of the battery 6U. Also, since band 56h and band segment 28a" are connected through lead 64, and further, since band portion 28e is electrically connected with band 56h through the lead 28g, these enumerated parts may be considered as being energized extensions of the negative side of the battery 60, and thus the segment 28a being energized, places a charge of 90 volts across the condenser 40 through the medium of the brush contacts 40a and 4Gb (see Figure 9).

tact faces thereon, certain of said contact faces being continuous and others thereof being formed with separated segment and remainder portions, leads connecting certain ones of said continuous contact faces and segmented and remainder portions, and condensers, certain of said condensers being so placed with respect to said contact faces and leads as to be progressively brought across said contact faces during rotation of said switch, a primary battery, slide contacts connecting said battery and certain of said continuous contact faces, and switch means to control the flow of energy from said battery to said rotatable switch, said circuit being so organized as to enable a rst condenser to be charged to the potential of said primary battery and other subsequent condensers to be charged to the additive potential of previously charged condensers plus the potential of said primary battery as said switch in rotation causes successive condensers to be placed across segments of said contact faces and remainder portions of said contact faces.

2. In a voltage multiplying circuit for photoflash units and like purposes, a plural number of condensers, a primary source of energy, an energy storage condenser, and switching means, said switching means being successively in circuit during a cycle of operation with all of said condensers and said primary energy source, said switching means being so constructed as to effect a voltage potential in said energy storage condenser arrived at in increments of a total potential, proportional to a geometric progression with respect to said primary energy source.

3. In a voltage multiplying circuit, in combination, a rotatable drum type switch having contact faces thereon, certain of said contact faces being continuous and others thereof being formed with a segmented portion and a separated remainder portion, leads connecting certain remainder portions of contact faces and one continuous contact face, another lead, said last mentioned lead connecting one of said continuous contact faces with certain individual contact faces of said segmented portions, a lead con--` necting a remainder portion of a contact face with a contact face of a segmented portion, a plural number of condensers, certain of said condensers being successively in additive series connection with a voltage source and with one another and across a remainder one thereof and in electrical circuit across said contact faces upon completion of a cycle of operation, a single condenser, said single condenser being electrically connected across all other mentioned condensers upon completion of a single rotation of said switch, and a primary battery connected to two of said continuous contact faces, said contact faces being so connected with respect to one another and so related to said condensers that progressive rotation of said switch through a cycle of operation lays a charge across successive ones of said condensers whereby the potential of a last charged condenser equals the added potential of all previously charged condensers plus the potential of said primary battery.

4. A voltage multiplying circuit, in combination, a rotatable drum type switch having annular contact faces thereon, a primary battery in circuit therewith, means to conduct electrical energy to successive one of said contact faces during rotation of said switch, means to electrically connect certain of said contact faces with one another, others of said contact faces being unconnected with respect to one another, a plural number of condensers, said condensers being successively placed and retained in series connection with one another across said contact faces during one rotation of said switch, and a single condenser, said last mentioned condenser being across all of said condensers and said battery upon completion of one rotation of said switch, said contact faces and electrical connections being so related to one another in an electrical sense as to impress successive charges of electrical potential across a successively increasing number of condensers whereby during intermediate rotation of said switch the potential acquired by a last charged condenser is the accumulated additive potential of previously charged condensers, and whereby upon completion of one rotation of said switch said single condenser acquires the accumulated additive potential of each and all condensers in series connection with one another and includ- .ing the potential of said battery.

5. In a voltage multiplying circuit, a rotatable switch having a. dielectric cylindrical base therein, a plural number of bands on said base, certain of said bands being continuous and certain others of said bands being grouped in pairs having a segmented portion and a, remainder portion separated with respect to one another, a primary battery in circuit with a pair of said continuous bands. means electrically connecting one band of said pair of continuous bands with one band of each of said segments, means connecting the other band of said pair of continuous bands with the other and complementary band of a single segment, and means connecting one portion of each paired remainder band portion with the unconnected portion of e-ach of said band segments, certain of the remainder portions of said pairs of bands being directly connected with one another and with one of said continuous bands, and another continuous band, said last mentioned band being directly connected to a remainder portion of one band of a pair of bands, and condensers, certain of said condensers being successively in additive series connection with a voltage source and with one another and across a remainder one thereof and being first placed across segmented portions and then across remainder portions of said bands in sequence with rotation of said switch, and another condenser, said last mentioned condenser being in circuit across all of said condensers and said battery upon completion of a single rotation of said switch, whereby said single condenser accumulates additively the electrical potential possessed by all individual condensers and said primary battery in series connection with one another.

JESS M. REED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,992,908 Cockroft et al Feb. 26, 1935 2,038,553 Dubilier Apr. 28, 1936 2,078,618 Springer Apr. 27, 1937 

